Corner-fastening



UNITED S'liTES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK KUSTERLE, 0F KENOSHA, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR T0 SIMMONS COMPANY, OF KENOSHA, WISCONSIN, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

CORNER-FASTENING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application aiea March as, i920. serial No. 369,052.

To all whom it may concern.:

Be it known that I, FRANK Kus'rniiiin, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kenosha, in the county of Kenosha and State of lVisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Corner- Fastening, of which the following is aspect cation.

My invention has reference more particularly to a lock or fastening device, which is adapted to be used in furniture construction for detacliably connecting the end of a frame member to the side of another member, as for example, in bed construction, wherein an angle iron side rail of the bed is connected to the post of a hed-end.

The principal objects of my invention are to provide improved means for detachably securing the end of the longitudinal member of angular cross section, such as an angle iron, in a socket; to enable saidv member to be readily secured in a socketin reversed positions; to enable such yreversed connection to be made without removing or reversing the locking device; to provide a locking member which rocks or fulcrums against a wall ofthe socket and applies pressure to both flanges of an angle iron in the socket, to clamp same cornerwise therein; to provide a device of this Character in which the locking member. remains assembled in the socket when released; and in general, to provide improved locking means of this character which is simple and inexpensive, and

which may be conveniently operated and se-V curely clamp the end of an angle iron or similar member in a socket.

On the drawings, Figure 1 is a side view of a fragmentary portion of a post and an angle iron connected therewith in accordance with my invention, said angle iron be- .ing shown in transverse section; Fig. 2, a

sectional view on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 3, a perspective view of the lockin member which I employ for clamping the end of the angle iron in the socket.

Referring to the drawings, the reference numeral 1 indicates a fragmentary portion of a post such as the post of a bed-end, and 2, afragrnentary portion of an angle iron, such as the angle iron side rail of a bed, which isdetachably'connected to the post 1. For the purpose of affording such connection, the post 1 is provided with a bracket or socket member on the side thereof, which may be of any suitable form or construction and secured to the post in any desired manner. The illustrated socket comprises a plate bent in inverted U-shape, with a top wall 3 havinga depending leg 4 at each side thereof and at right angles thereto, so as to form square corners in the socket and this inverted U-sha-ped plate is secured edgewise against the side of a post, preferably with the face-plate 5 interposed therebetween. For securingI the U-shaped member to the post and affording a bottom wall for the socket opening Y6, in which the end of the angle iron 2 is inserted, a plate is bent with an intermediate loop 7, which is inserted through matching apertures 8 and 9 in the face-plate 5, and wall of the post respectively, and has a pin 10 inserted through the loop at the inside of the post with a reinforcing plate 11 preferably linterposed between the pin 10 and the wall of the post.

The two side portions 12 of the looped plate at the exterior of the post are enlarged andvspread apart so as to engage against the inside of the depending legs 4 of the U- shaped socket plate, and each of said side portions 12 is secured to its respective leg 4, by means of a rivet 13 or any other suitable manner.

The upper ends of the side portions 12 are bent inwardly as shown at 14 in Fig. 1, to form the bottom wall of the socket 6, and the` reduced end of the cross rail 15 of the bed is inserted through an angular aperture in one of the legs 4 and its corresponding side portion 12 of the looped member so that the upper iiange of the cross rail bears against the under sides of the iiiturned ends 14, and is secured to one of the inturned ends 14 as shown at 16 to afford a transverse connection of the socket parts.

A bolt 17 is inserted transversely through the socket- 6 and has a locking member 18 inserted thereon, which is adapted to be forced laterally in the socket by a wing nut 19 on the projecting end of the bolt 17, which bears against a sleeve 2O on the bolt, said sleeve being extended outwardly through an aperture 21 in one of the depending legs 4, andv having a rounded inner end 22, engaging against the back of the locking member 1S, so as to permit the required rocking movement of said locking member.

This locking member 18 comprises a substantially rectangular back 23, the vertical Patented Sept. 6, 1921.

dimension of which is a little less than the vertical dimension ofthe socket 6, and is provided with a vertically elongated bolt aperture 24;, permitting a slight vertical adjustment of the locking member in the socket. A pair of legs 25 extend laterally from the front face of the plate 23, one being located adjacent each end of the plate with an inclined wedge surface 26, extending from each leg to the respective end of the plate 23.

The'angle iron which is to be clamped in the socket has a slot 27 extending inwardly from the end, so as to enable the end of the angle iron to pass the bolt 17 when inserted in the socket. Vhen the angle iron is insertedin position as shown in full lines in Fig. 1, and the wing-nut 19 turned down on the bolt 17, t-he locking member 18 is forced laterally and the upper inclined surface 26 strikes against the edge of the upper flange of the angle iron, and tilts the locking member to a position in which the lower leg 25 bears against the lower portion of the upright flange of the angle iron. At the same time, the loweredge of the plate 23 'bears against the bottom wall of the socket 6. Further pressure applied to the locking member by the wing-nut 19 causes the sur` face 26 to act as a wedge, forcing the upper flange of the angle iron upwardly and laterally, and direct pressure is applied by the leg 25, against the vertical flange of the angleriron, with the combined result that the angle Viron is jammed into a corner of the socket with the horizontal and vertical flanges pressed firmly against the vertical andupper horizontal walls respectively of the socket.

To reverse the angle iron, the opposite end thereof, which has a similar slot 27 is inserted in the socket 6 with the flanges positioned as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1, and upon tightening the wing-nut 19, the locking mem'- ber 18 assumes the position shown by the vdotted lines in Fig. 1 and in a similar manner clamps the angle iron in the lower left hand corner of the socket -as shown in Fig. 1. Y VIt will be observed that the locking member 18 is retained in the socket at all times` being held therein by a bolt 17 and it is un` necessary to reverse the locking member 18 to lock the angle iron in the reverse position, thus affording a convenient means for securely clamping the angle iron in the reversed positions without requiring loose parts which are liable to be displaced or lost.

Vhile I have shown and described my invention in a certain practical form, it is to be understood that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the principles of my invention, and

I therefore do not purpose limiting the patent g-ranted hereon, otherwise than necessitated by the prior art.

I claim as my invention: Y 1. In a device of the class described, the

Vend of the combination-`vvith an angle iron having a Y air of angularly related flanges, of an end fastening therefor comprising Aa pair ofV abutments, and a locking member engaging Y fastening therefor, comprising a pair of abutments adapted to receive the angle iron cornerwise therebetween, and a locking member having a wedge portion engaging the edge of one flange and a projection pressing directly against' the' face Vof the other flange for clamping both flanges of they angle iron against the pair of abutments.

3. Ih a device of the class described, the combination with an angle iron having a pair of angularly related flanges, of an end fastening thereforcomprising a pair of abutments adapted to receive the angle iron cornerwise therebetween, a third abutment, and a locking member having a wedge surface at one end engaging a flange of the angle iron and a bearing edgeat Vthe other end engag` ing the third abutment anda projection in-f termediate of the wedge surfacel and bearingedge engaging the other flange of the angle iron to` clamp the flanges thereof against their respective abutments.

4l.v In a device of the class described, the. Y

.fastening therefor comprising a pair of abutments adaptedto receive theA angle iron cornerwise therebetween, a locking member having aY wedge portion engaging the edge `of oneof the flanges ofthe angle ironand a bearing spaced therefrom engaging the other flange of the angle iron, and threaded adjusting means engaging the locking member intermediate of the wedge portion and bearing for operating the locking member to clamp the angle iron against the pair of abutments.

5. In a corner fastening, the'combination of an angle iron, a socket adapted to receiveA the end of the angle iron therein, and means for locking the end of the angle iron in the socket. comprising an. integral locking member adapted to swing transversely of and on the angle iron as a fulcrum and thereby ef# i,

fect` a binding engagement with a wall of the socket and both flanges ofthe angle iron to clamp the'latter in the socket.

6. The combination of an angle iron and a member detachably connecting with the angle iron, said member having a laterally extending socket admitting the end of the angle. iron therein, a threaded member andV a one piece locking' memberV loosely mounted in the socket and adapted to be tilted therein by the threaded member, so

as to engage both flanges of the angle iron and a Wall of the socket for clamping the end of the angle iron in the socket.

7 The combination with an angle iron of a member detachably connecting With the end of the angle iron and having a socket adapted to receive the end of the angle iron therein, and a locking member in the socket having three bearing edges adapted to bear respectively against the two flanges of the angle iron and a Wall of the socket for clamping the end of the angle iron in the socket.

8. In a corner fastening, the combination of a post having a socket extending laterally therefrom, an angle iron adapted to have the end thereof secured in a plurality of posi tions in the socket, and a locking member having four bearing points, optionalljT utilized three at a time t0 optionally clamp the end of the angle iron in the socket in either of two different positions in the socket.

9. In a corner fastening the combination of an angle iron, a socket adapted to receive the end'of the angle iron therein and means for optionally locking the angle iron in reversed positions comprising a member having lateral projections and opposite beveled edges arranged so that one of the projections coperates with one of the beveled edges to lock the angle iron in the socket in one position, and the other projection cooperates with the other beveled edge to lock the angle iron in the socket in the other position.

l0. In a corner fastening the combination of an angle iron, a socket adapted to receive the end of the angle iron therein and means for locking the end of the angle iron in the socket comprising a plate having a lateral projection at one end and a beveled edge at the other end, and a threaded member for operating said means so as to force the projection against the inner face of one of the flanges of the angle iron and the beveled edge against the edge of the other flange. FRANK KUSTERLE. 

